Fel-Pro Automotive Gaskets / Head Gaskets

Manufacturer: Federal-Mogul / Fel-Pro Product Category: Gaskets and Packing Asbestos Type: Chrysotile asbestos Years Produced: Unknown–1983

Product Description

Fel-Pro is a brand with deep roots in the automotive and industrial gasket industry, operating as a division of Federal-Mogul Corporation. For much of the twentieth century, Fel-Pro manufactured a broad line of gaskets designed to create leak-proof seals in high-heat, high-pressure environments. Among the most widely used of these were automotive head gaskets, which are installed between the engine block and cylinder head to contain combustion gases and prevent coolant or oil from leaking into the combustion chamber.

Head gaskets and related automotive gaskets were considered critical sealing components in passenger vehicles, trucks, and commercial equipment. Given the extreme temperatures and pressures generated inside internal combustion engines, manufacturers required materials that could withstand thermal cycling without degrading. For decades, asbestos-reinforced materials were regarded as the industry standard for this purpose, prized for their heat resistance, compressibility, and durability under sustained mechanical stress.

Fel-Pro produced gaskets for a wide range of engine makes and models, supplying both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the aftermarket replacement parts industry. Their products were distributed through auto parts retailers, wholesale distributors, and industrial supply channels across the United States. Until regulatory pressure and growing awareness of asbestos hazards prompted reformulation, Fel-Pro gaskets manufactured through approximately 1983 incorporated chrysotile asbestos as a core component of their construction.

Asbestos Content

Fel-Pro automotive gaskets produced through approximately 1983 contained chrysotile asbestos, the most commercially prevalent form of asbestos fiber used in industrial manufacturing during the twentieth century. Chrysotile, sometimes referred to as white asbestos, was woven or compressed into gasket sheet materials because of its exceptional resistance to heat, its flexibility, and its ability to form a reliable seal under compression.

In head gasket construction, chrysotile fibers were typically incorporated into compressed asbestos sheet (CAS) or asbestos beater sheet materials, which were then die-cut, coated, or laminated with metal facings to produce the finished gasket. The asbestos content in these composite sheet materials could be substantial, and the fiber was distributed throughout the body of the gasket rather than confined to a surface coating.

Federal-Mogul’s corporate history includes the acquisition of numerous asbestos-related product lines, and the company ultimately sought bankruptcy protection in 2001, in significant part due to the volume of asbestos personal injury claims filed against it and its subsidiaries and predecessor companies. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization process, the Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Injury Trust was established to resolve asbestos liability claims arising from Federal-Mogul products, including those manufactured and sold under the Fel-Pro brand.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers who handled Fel-Pro asbestos-containing gaskets faced exposure at multiple points in the product lifecycle, from initial installation through routine maintenance and removal of worn components.

Automotive and industrial mechanics encountered asbestos exposure primarily during the removal of old gaskets from engine surfaces. When a head gasket fails or an engine is rebuilt, the old gasket must be scraped, ground, or wire-brushed from the mating surfaces of the engine block and cylinder head to ensure a clean, flat seating surface for the replacement gasket. This scraping and surface preparation process could generate significant quantities of airborne asbestos dust, as the dried, heat-set asbestos composite material broke apart and released fibers into the immediate work area.

Installing new asbestos-containing gaskets also carried exposure risk. Cutting gaskets to fit nonstandard applications, trimming excess material, or handling gaskets in ways that caused surface disturbance could release chrysotile fibers. In shop environments with limited ventilation — common in smaller repair shops and industrial maintenance facilities during the mid-twentieth century — these fibers could remain suspended in the air for extended periods, increasing the potential for inhalation.

Industrial workers generally who worked in manufacturing facilities, power plants, refineries, or other industrial settings where gasket replacement was a routine maintenance task also faced comparable exposure. Compressed asbestos sheet gaskets were used extensively in flanged pipe connections, pressure vessels, and heat exchangers throughout heavy industry, and the same removal and replacement activities that created exposure for automotive mechanics applied equally in these settings.

Exposure was often cumulative and repetitive. Mechanics who performed engine work regularly — whether in dealerships, independent repair shops, fleet maintenance departments, or industrial settings — could encounter asbestos-containing gasket materials on a daily or weekly basis over the course of long careers. The occupational exposure standard for asbestos has been dramatically reduced over the decades since these products were in common use, reflecting scientific consensus that no level of asbestos exposure is without risk. During the peak years of Fel-Pro’s asbestos gasket production, workplace exposure limits were far less protective than current OSHA standards.

Workers were often unaware that the gaskets they handled contained asbestos, and respiratory protection specifically designed to capture asbestos fibers was not routinely provided or required in many shop settings during this era.

Documented Product Identification

The following details are drawn from public asbestos litigation records, manufacturer catalog pages, technical manuals, and corporate history materials. Each item reflects the product as documented in those sources.

Documented asbestos-use period: 1930s-early 1990s

Corporate context: Originally incorporated in Illinois in 1923 as Felt Products Manufacturing Company, headquartered in Skokie, Illinois. In February 1998, Federal-Mogul acquired 100% of Fel-Pro’s stock, after which all assets and liabilities (except asbestos-related liabilities) were transferred to Federal-Mogul, leaving Fel-Pro as a non-operating shell company.

Documented asbestos components: gaskets, cylinder head gaskets, exhaust gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, packing materials.

Industries served: automotive, marine/ships, petrochemical refineries, steel mills.

Naval / marine service: This manufacturer’s equipment is documented in connection with U.S. Navy and commercial-marine service.

Documented product lines:

• Engine Gaskets (1930s-early 1990s). Full line of gaskets and gasket materials for use in internal combustion engines, principally in automobiles but also on ships. — asbestos components: cylinder head gaskets, exhaust gaskets, intake manifold gaskets.
• Packing Materials (1930s/1940s-1971). Sealants used in hostile industrial environments for pumps, valves, expansion joints, or process equipment handling steam, hot gases, acids, or other strong corrosives. — asbestos components: packing.

Fel-Pro engine gaskets contained encapsulated chrysotile asbestos bound in paper or sheet material and further encapsulated by Teflon, epoxy-phenolic coating, rubber, or metal. Packing materials contained chrysotile or crocidolite asbestos encapsulated by metal or other materials.